Ioane John Opeta v. Northwest Airlines Pension Plan for Contract Employees

Ioane John Opeta appeals the district court’s judgment that he is not “totally and permanently” disabled, and therefore ineligible for a disability pension benefit under the Northwest Airlines Pension Plan for Contract Employees (the “Plan”), which is administered by Northwest Airlines (“Northwest”) and regulated by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”). We must determine whether the district court, in conducting a de novo review of the Plan’s denial of benefits, abused its discretion by admitting evidence extrinsic to the administrative record. We hold that because the circumstances did not clearly establish that the evidence was necessary to the district court’s review, Friedrich v. Intel Corp., 181 F.3d 1105, 1110-11 (9th Cir.1999), the district court abused its discretion by admitting the evidence. Therefore, we reverse the district court’s judgment and remand for a grant of benefits under the Plan.

I.

On October 30, 1996, Ioane John Opeta, a Northwest employee, severely injured his back when he grabbed a falling 300-pound crate while loading cargo onto an aircraft. Opeta underwent surgery and received extensive treatment for his injury, including…